Christmas Eve in China. You sit at teachers’ office. There comes one of your students and gives you an apple. “Merry Christmas”. You accept the gift and don’t think more about this event until next student comes to see you…

Pinganguo - Christmas apple

Having whole bag of apples by the end of the day you turn to your friends and old uncle Google for explanation. Apparently in China there is a custom to give your friends and family an apple for Christmas Eve. Why? It comes from a Chinese word pun:píngānyè(平安夜– Christmas Eve) +píngguǒ(苹果 – an apple) = píngānguǒ (平安果 – literally ‘Fruit of peace’). That would be a nice explanation of this rapidly developing custom if not for one detail… Most Chinese people are absolutely convinced that eating apples on Christmas is a Western tradition…